Health & Medicine

Environment

Touching receipts can lead to lengthy pollutant exposures

The chemical BPA, which coats some cash-register receipts, may linger in the body for far longer than if someone had ingested it.

Chemistry

Explainer: Store receipts and BPA

The chemical BPA may become trapped in the skin, causing it to linger in the body for a week or more after touching receipt paper.

Health & Medicine

For teens, a good mood depends on good sleep

Teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep at night to feel good and function well the next day, a new data show.

Health & Medicine

Student invents 3-in-1 hygiene powder

A teen who volunteers at a homeless center has developed a powdery product that can serve as dry shampoo, body powder and toothpaste.

Environment

Vaping may stiffen the heart and blood vessels

Exposure to e-cigarette vapors damages blood vessels in mice, suggesting that vaping could put people at risk for heart disease.

Health & Medicine

Analyze This: Does moderate screen time boost teen happiness?

Computers, smartphones and TVs are everywhere. And scientists are trying to discover whether that’s a good thing for our well-being.

Brain

A cell hookup helps the tongue tell sweet from sour

To keep your sense of taste, new taste cells need to hook up to your brain every few weeks. Now, scientists have figured out how they do it.

Genetics

Explainer: Why scientists sometimes ‘knock out’ genes

How do we learn what a particular molecule does in the body? To find out, scientists often 'knock out' the gene that makes it. Here’s how.

Health & Medicine

Scientists Say: Rabies

Rabies is a disease caused by the rabies virus. There is a vaccine, but without it, people and animals can die from this disease.

Health & Medicine

Bones have stealth role in muscle, appetite and health

Surprise! Bones release hormones that carry on long-distance chats with the brain and other organs. Studies in mice show these conversations can affect appetite, how the brain uses energy and more.

Health & Medicine

Explainer: What is a hormone?

Various tissues secrete special chemicals, known as hormones. They travel, usually in blood, to a particular distant site where they tell certain cells it’s time to go to work.

Brain

Evening screen time can sabotage sleep

Blue light from electronic devices can impair the body’s ability to sleep, making it hard to focus in the morning.